For over two decades, the second half of July in Grožnjan has been reserved for the traditional festival Jazz is Back! BP, which starts on July 11th this year and will hold a total of 14 concert nights, featuring eminent jazz and blues musicians from all over the world.

The program of the festival Jazz is Back! BP 2023.

Festival Jazz is Back BP! 2023.

11.7. JM Jazz World Orchestra & Luis Bonilla

12.7. “Noise” – Vojkan Jocić, Filip Pavić , Bojan Skočilić, Dorian Cuculić, Bruna Matić

13.7.  “6 metara” – Vedran Ružić, Dorian Cuculić, Borko Rupena, Adriano Bernobić

14.7. BP evening – Primož Grašić, Mario Mavrin, Blaž Jurjevčić, Tijan Grašić & special guest: Georgie Fame

15.7. Drago Diklić

16.07. Groznjan All Stars – Luis Bonilla, Alex Sipiagin, Nelson Riveros, John Riley, Lea Lovenčić, Joe Kapolovitz, Boris Kozlow, Karlheinz Miklin Jr.

17.07. MIMIKA Orchestra – “Altur Mur”

18.07. Ethno Croatia

19.07. Nelson Riveros -The Latin Side of Wes Montgomery.

20.07. “ENJ Society” – Michael Erian, Howard Curtis, Milan Nikolic, Daniel Nösig

21.07. Mike Sponza Blues Band

22.07. Radojka Šverko

23.7. Mičetić-Kostadinović-Črnčec trio

24.7. JM International Music School Finale – Students & Mentors

The concerts are held on the Belvedere Terrace in Grožnjan.

The longest jazz festival in Croatia is held in cooperation with the Municipality of Grožnjan and the International Cultural Center of Croatian Musical Youth in Grožnjan. In 2008, the festival won the prize of the European Jazz Federation for the best small (boutique) festival.

A special feature of the Jazz is Back Festival! BP is that the festival program brings together everything that takes place in Grožnjan – so the Summer Jazz School of the Croatian Musical Youth is held simultaneously with the festival, and it is in that school that the international team of mentors will teach.

Grožnjan jazz programs, festival Jazz is Back! BP and the Summer Jazz School will bring together all generations from over twenty countries on four continents and a large audience that enthusiastically follows the musicians. Exceptional cooperation between participants of educational programs and their mentors along with top knowledge and talents are woven into the foundations of the International Cultural Center of Croatian Musical Youth under whose auspices jazz programs are held in Grožnjan, which is fondly called the smallest jazz metropolis in the world.

The participants of the jazz program and festival in Grožnjan are from Croatia, Germany, Slovenia, Israel, Bulgaria, Austria, Australia, USA, Italy, Finland, France, Hungary, Greece, Ukraine, Spain, Switzerland, Netherlands, Serbia, Slovakia etc. Workshops are held daily, and music will also be played on the streets of Grožnjan, sometimes organized, and sometimes quite spontaneously, which will be enjoyed by domestic and foreign visitors to this magical Istrian city of artists and creativity. During 14 days, jazz piano, guitar, drums, trumpet, trombone, vocal workshop, double bass and bass guitar, saxophone, and ensemble workshops are held. A total of 10 workshops and lectures by guest artists at the festival. Young people are the focus of all Grožnjan activities, and the International Cultural Center of Croatian Musical Youth is a cultural laboratory of young talents.

Grožnjan’s festival Jazz is Back! BP is an excellent example of how, through cooperation and linking culture, education and tourism, a unique product can be created that expresses the cultural and gastronomic offer of the locality of upper Bujština. Also, the festival is not just a “concert” – the atmosphere and the ambiance of the town of Grožnjan, which is an artist town in every segment, certainly play a big role here. All this creates an excellent atmosphere and it is certainly one of the reasons why many visitors, lecturers and performers are happy to return.

It was also possible to watch the festival via live streaming on the YouTube channel of the Municipality of Grožnjan, JM Interantional and JM Croatia.

The program is supported by Ministry of Culture and Media of the Republic of Croatia, County of Istria, Municipality of Grožnjan, TZ of County of Istria, and the main musical sponsors are again EURO-UNIT and Yamaha Music Europe.